U.S. Crude Inventories Down 6 mln barrels - EIA

U.S. crude stocks fell last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories also declined, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels in the week to July 20, compared with analysts' expectations for a decrease of 2.3 million barrels.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.1 million barrels, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 46,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.5 percentage points.

Gasoline stocks fell by 2.3 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 713,000-barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 101,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 207,000-barrel increase, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 2.5 million barrels per day.

Reporting By David Gaffen